Shoe counter



Jan. 14,1936. A, THURSTQN 2,028,111

SHOE COUNTER Filed Aug. 2, 1935 the level of the heel seat,` may be readily depressed below the level thereof, so that a heel seat whichV Patented Jan. 14, 1936 SHOE COUNTER,

. VCharles A. Thurston, Haverhill, Mass., assigner to John W. Herlihy, William W. Herlihy, and John J. Herlihy, all of Haverhill, Mass., doing business as Lowell Counter Company,;Lowell,

` Mass.

Application August 2, 1935, Serial No. V34,410 6 claims. (c1. ca -6s) i This invention relates to certain improvements in stifeners for the heel portions of shoes, usually termed counters, and which are usually made either of very stiff leather board or leather and, when molded, have a flange on the bottom edge which extends onto the heel seat.

In the manufacture of many types of shoes, when the shoe is lasted the edge portion of the upperis drawn over onto theiiange of the counter and secured in position by tacks which are driven through the flange into the heel part of the innersole, or heel stifiener, therebyforming the heel seat. It is, of course, desirable that the heel seat be as level as possible, so that, when the he'el is attached, it Will rest firmly thereon at all points about the sides and back of the shoe at the edge. To secure a level heel seat, it is usually subjected to considerable pounding and is often ironed. Much diiculty is often encountered in securing a perfectly level heel seat for several reasons:partly on accountof the wrinkles or folds in the upper leather at the back of the shoe, and principally on account of the yheads of the tacks employed to secure the upper in position, which are liable to protrude above the level of the heel seat, so that the heel is prevented from resting thereon at allpoints.

Prior toV my invention, various attempts have been made to obviate this difl'iculty, none of which, so far as I am aware, have been entirely successful, or satisfactory.

The object of my invention is to provide a form of counter which is so constructed, or shaped that the folds of the upper leather, and the heads of the tacks which are'liable to protrude above is perfectly level may be secured without difficulty and the heel, when placed thereon, will engage at all points about its edge.

I accomplish this object by so molding the counter that a rib is formed on the top or inner side of the flange thereof close to the inner surface of the sides and back of the counter, said rib being extended entirely about the heel seat portion of the counter, so that when the counter is placed on the last, the rib will support the flange portion, which projects beyond it, out of contact with the heel part which is directly engaged by the rib.

Consequently, when the edge portion of the upper is tacked down onto the heel seat, the tacks will be driven into the counter flange withinthe rib and the flange will be bent down into contact with the heel part, so that the heads of the tacks and folds of the leather may be depressed below the level of the edge of the heel seat and will not interfere with the subsequent seating of the heel thereon.

For a more complete. disclosure of the invention reference is now made to the following specication in connection with the accompanying drawing, in which: Y

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a shoe counter embodying my invention.

Fig. 2 is a sectional view thereof at line 2 2 of Fig. l.

Figs. Y3 and 4 are cross sectional views of the heel portion of a last having a partly finished shoe thereon, in which a counter embodying my invention is employed.

Fig 5 is a detail sectional view on an enlarged scale at line 5 5 of Fig. 1.

In the drawing a indicates a common type of counter having side portions b which, in the present instance, are of sucient length to extend for a short distance beyond the breast line of the heel, and a bottom flange c, which is skived to a sharpedge, as is customary.

According to my invention I form an integral rib" d on the top or innerr side of the flange c, which extends continuously entirely about the side and back portions of the counter and terminates approximately at the point where the breast Vline is normally located. 'I'hat is, there is no object in having the rib extend beyond the breast line, although it is desirable to have it extend nearly or quite to the breast line, as will hereafter appear. The rib d is approximately semi-cylindrical in cross section, and is formed at the time of the molding operation of the counter by forming a correspondingly shaped groove in the face side ofthe plug, over which the counter is molded in an ordinary counter molding machine,A so that, when the flange is wiped in over the face of the plug, and is, at that time, subjected to a heavy pressure, the material, which is then in temper, will be forced into the groove, completely lling the same, so that a correspondingly shaped rib will be formed on the inner side of the flange, the bottom side being formed dat, as is customary.

As illustrated in Fig..3, when the counter is inserted between the lining e and upper f of the shoe and placed on the last g, on which an inner sole, or heel and shank-stiffener h has been placed, the rib d will bear directly on the heel part and will support the flange c' above the level of the surface thereof, so that there will be an open space therebetween. The upper, which has been lasted in onto the flange, will then be secured in position by tacks i, which will be driven thru the flange beyond or within the rib d and into the heel part, so that the flange portion which projects beyond the rib will be bent down onto the heel part, thereby permitting the tacks to be driven in to such an extent that their heads will be depressed well below the level of the edge of the heel seat, as indicated in Fig. 4. All folds or Wrinkles in the leather will also be pressed below the level of the surface on which the heel is to be seated.

Consequently, vwhen the heel is placed in position on its seat, it will bear uniformly thereon at all points.

As the rib ci is formed at the time the molding operation is performed, it will 'oe apparent that, after the groove has been formed in the plug of the molding machine, counters provided with a rib on the inner or the upper sides of the flange, as described, may be produced without extra eX- pense, as compared with any other ordinary type of counter.

The transversely convex form of rib shown is preferable, principally on account of the fact that the concave form or" groove in the plug which forms the rib will not interfere with the ready removal of the counter from the molding machine, while other forms of grooves might tend. to prevent removal. While the rib is located close to the sides of the counter, Aa space is provided therebetween on account of the convex formation of the rib which permits the counter to yield slightly to the pressure ofthe edge of the heel when it is attached, so' that a perfectjoint will be made between the extreme outer edge of the heel and the heel seat.

As shown in Fig. 5, while the greater portion of the rib is of uniform height, the end portions taper in height down to the top surface of the ila-nge, so that no shoulder will be formed by the rib at its ends when the end portions of the flange are pressed down on the heel part of the innersole or tuck.

While the form of rib shown is considered the most desirable for all practical purposes, the formation may be somewhat varied without departing from my invention.

I claim:

1. A shoe counter having an inwardly projecting bottom flange, and having a rib on the upper or inner side of said flange adjacent the inner surface of the sides of the counter, to support the edge portion of the flange out of contact with the heel part to which it is applied.

2. A shoe counter having an inwardly projecting bottom flange and having a rib on the upper or inner side of said flange in proximity to the inner surface of the sides of the counter, said rib extending outwardly about the sides and back thereof approximately to the breast line of the heel to be applied thereto.

3. A shoe counter having an inwardly projecting bottom ange, said flange having a rib on its upper or inner side molded integrally therewith and disposed adjacent the inner surface of the sides of the counter.

Zl. A shoe counter having an inwardly projecting bottom ange, and having a transversely conveX rib formed on the upper or inner side of said flange in proximity to the inner surface of the sides of the counter and extending continuously from a point .adjacent the breast line at one side about the back of the counter to a corresponding point at the opposite side.

5. A shoe counter having an inwardly projecting bottom flange formed to taper to a sharp edge, and having an integrally molded rib formed on the inner or upper side of said flange in proximity to the inner surface of the sides of the counter, said rib extending continuously for the entire edge portion of the heel seat of the shoe, to support the tapering edge portion of the flange out of contact with the heel part to which it is to be secured. y

6. A shoe counter having an inwardly projecting bottom iiange, and having a rib on the upper or inner side of said ange .adjacent the inner surface of the sides of the counter, said rib extending frorn a point adjacent the heel breast line at one side about the sides and back portions of the counter to a point adjacent th-e breast line at the other side, the intermediate portion of said rib being of approximately uniform height and the end portions thereof being tapered in height to the surface of the flange.

CHARLES A. THURSTON. 

